Means for collecting, conveying, and depositing articles or packages of merchandise.



No. 657,26l. Patented Sept. 4, I900. L. ABRAHAM.-

MEANS FOR BOLLECTING, CONVEYING, ANDDEPOSITING ARTICLES 08 PACKAGES 0FMERCHANDISE.

(Application filed Feb. 8, 1900.) (No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

BY MW 4' K I ATTORN YS No. 657,26I. Patented Sept. 4, 1900. L. ABRAHAM.

MEANS'FUR COLLECTING, convavme, ANDADEPOSITING ARTICLES on PACKAGES 0FMERCHANDISE.

(Applicatiqn file d Feb. 8, 1900.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

WlTNESSES: INVENTOR 0M %%/:w W BY 7 z 'QHKWA ATTORNEYS m5 NORR|5 PETERScc, Puomuma, WASHINGTON, n, c.

nrre I STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LAwRENcE ABRAHAM, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

MEANS FOR COLLECTING, CONVEYING, AND DEPOSITING ARTICLES 0R PACKAGES OFMERCHANDISE;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters latent No. 657,261, datedSeptember 4, 1900. Application filed February 8, 1900. Serial No. 4,508.(No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, LAwRENcE ABRAHAM, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of New York, in the county and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for Collecting,Conveying, and Depositing Articles or Packages of Merchandise, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to means for collecting, conveying, and depositingarticles or packages of merchandise; and it has for its object to catchsaid articles or packages that may be thrown or dropped upon theconveyer and to carry them to and deposit them at a different location.

My invention consists of the novel devices herein shown and described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of oneembodiment of my invention. Fig. 2 is a front View of the upper portionof the conveyor, the lower part being broken away and the shaft removedand as looking from the left side of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan of theskeleton or frame of one of the pockets and showing the manner ofattaching it to the belt. Fig. tshows the application of two horizontalendless conveyers for the articles or packages, the shaft inclosing thevertical conveyor and the upper horizontal belt being shown in frontelevation.

Similar characters represent like parts in all the figures.

A is an endless belt, and B B are two pulleys around which said beltpasses and by which it is caused to revolve.

O O are carrying-pockets which are loosely hinged to the outer surfaceof the belt A in a manner hereinafter described. These pockets O areconstructed of a shelf D, (the inner edge of which is the pivotedportion of the pocket,) the walls E, secured to both ends of the shelf Dand extending above and below the same, and the inner wall F, connectingthe rear of the shelf D and the end walls on one side of said shelf,constituting a tie between said end walls to hold them in their properpositions. The pockets 0 have entirely'free action on their hinges andwould drop by gravity unless prevented by some obstruction or stop. Thewall F constitutes a projection from the shelf D, and the outer free endof said wall when it is below the shelf willrest upon the belt, as shownat 1 in Fig. 1, and the shelf and pocket will be held in this positionuntil said pocket has passed the plane that it was in at such position.The shelf D and the projection or wall F should be so arrangedrelatively to each other that when the shelf D is in its carryingposition and substantially horizontal or tipped slightly upward, asshown at l, the lower edge of the wall F will rest uponthe belt A. If itbe desired to discharge the article or articles that are on the shelvesat and below the lower pulley B, the belt should revolve in thedirection of the arrows 2, and as soon as the belt and pockets begin toturn around said pulley and out of a vertical plane-the pockets willdrop, as shown at 3in Fig. 1, and discharge the artioles that wereresting on "the shelves. After passing-around said pulley and Whileascending on the right side of the same the Wall F will be above theshelfD and be in no position to act as a stop, so the pockets andshelves will remain depressed, as shown at at 4 in Fig. 1. If it bedesired to convey and discharge the articles-on a plane above where theyare dropped into the pockets, the belt should travelin the direction ofthe arrows 5 5, Fig. 1, when said articles will be carried around theupper pulley l3 and discharged to the right of said pulley.

In Fig. 1 I have shown a shaft G surrounding the pulleys, belts, andpockets and provided with a chute H at its lower end for guiding thefalling articles to the right and in the direction that the pockets arearranged to travel when the belt is moving in the direction of thearrows 2. The side I of the shaft near which the conveving is to be doneshould be near enough to the pockets to prevent any articles which maybe thrown into the shaft from falling between the pockets and said-wall.J is an opening in the walll, through which any articles or packages ofmerchandise may be thrown or dropped. The conveyer and shaft may extendto any height or depth desired and through several floors of a building,and openings J may be made at each floor, so that articles or packagesmay be dropped onto the conveyer at any floor and discharged either atthe bottom or at the top of the conveyer. K is an opening in the rightwall L of the shaft, through which articles may be discharged. M is ahorizontally-revoluble endless belt passing around two pulleys N N andunder the chute H and arranged to travel in the direction of the arrows6. The articles and packages when they drop from the pockets and chute Hfall upon the belt M and are carried by said belt to the right of thepulley N and deposited there.

I prefer to make the pockets 0 and to attach them to the belt A in thefollowing manner:

0 is a rectangular frame, preferably of metal, the inner side of whichconsists of a round straight rod a. This rod ais supported by metalloops 1) to the outside of the belt A, which loops are riveted to thebelt, and the rod or passes loosely through said loops and is rotatabletherein. Said rod and loops constitute a hinge for the frame 0. Abrace cconnects the red at with the outer parallel rod (1 of the frame, andbetween the two end portions 6 e wicker-work or other appropriatematerial is stretched on and supported by the frame 0 and constitutesthe shelf D. The inner wall F and the end walls E are also made ofwicker-work and are woven or otherwise connected together and to theshelf D.

In Fig. 4 I have shown the application of an additional endless belt orcarrier P to the devices shown in the preceding figures. Said belt P isstretched around pulleys Q Q below and preferably a little in advance ofthe belt M. The belt P may be arranged at any angle with reference tothe belt M, its outer pulley Q being at the location where delivery ofthe goods is desired. In the drawings the belt P is shown arranged atright angles to the belt M. Motion may be transmitted to the belt P inany well-known manner. A very simple way, however, of giving therequisite motion to the belt P is by securing to the rotary shaft 11 ofthe pulley N another pulley R and connecting said pulley R by.a belt Swith a pulley made to revolve with the pulley Q. The same power thatdrives the belt M will throughthe shaft 'n, pulley R, and belt Stransmit motion to the pulley Q and belt P.

It will be evident that the distributing-belts may be multiplied to any'desired number without departing from my invention.

By my invention a very valuable and useful device is provided by whicharticles or packages of merchandise may be speedily collected fromdifferent parts of a building and conveyed to and discharged in otherparts of the building. I

What I claim as new, and desire to'secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A device for collecting, conveying and depositing articles orpackages of merchandise, having an endless revoluble belt, a shelfhinged to the outside of said belt, and provided with a projectionextending from its hinged or inner portion, and said projectionwhenbelow the shelf arranged to rest upon the belt and hold the shelf ina substantially horizontal position, and said shelf being permitted todrop by gravity when not so held, whereby articles dropped upon theshelf may be held, and then conveyed and finally deposited.

2. A device for collecting, conveying and depositing articles orpackages of merchandise, having an endless revoluble belt, shelveshinged to the outsideof said belt, each shelf provided with a projectionextending from its hinged or inner portion, and said projection whenbelow the shelf arranged to rest upon the belt and hold the shelf in asubstantiallyhoriz'ontal position, and the shelf being permitted to dropby gravity when not so held, whereby articles dropped upon the shelf maybe held, and then conveyed and finally deposited. v

3. A device for collecting, conveying and depositing articles orpackages of merchan dise, having an endless revoluble belt, shelveshinged to the outside of said belt, each shelf provided with aprojection extending from its hinged or inner portion, and saidprojection when below the shelf arranged to rest upon the belt and holdthe shelf in a substantiallyhorizontal position, and the'shelf beingpermitted to drop by gravity when not so held, whereby articles droppedupon the shelf may be held, and then conveyed and finally deposited, anda shaft surrounding said belt and shelves provided with a chute at itslower end, all as set forth.

4. A device for collecting, conveying and depositing articles orpackages of merchandise, having an endless revoluble belt, shelveshinged to the outside of said belt, each shelf provided with aprojection extending from its hinged or inner portion, and saidprojection when below the shelf arranged to rest upon the belt and holdthe shelf in a substantiallyhorizontal position, the said shelf beingpermitted to drop by gravity when not so held, whereby articles droppedupon the shelf may beheld, and then conveyed and finally deposited, anda shaft surrounding said belt and shelves and provided with a chute atits lower end having side openings, all as set forth.

5. A device for collecting, conveying and depositing articles orpackages of merchandise, having an endless revoluble belt, a shelfhinged to the outside of said belt, and provided with a projectionextending from its hinged or'inner portion, and said projection whenbelow the shelfarranged to rest upon the belt and hold the shelf in asubstantiallyhorizontal position, and said shelf being permitted to dropby gravity when not so held, whereby articles dropped upon the shelf maybe held, and then conveyed and finally deposited, in combination with acontinuous conveyer below said belt for receiving and conveying thearticles dropped from the shelf.

6, A device for collecting, conveying and depositing articles orpackages of merchandise, having an endless revoluble belt,shelves hingedto the outside of said belt, each shelf provided with a projectionextending from its hinged or inner portion, and said projection whenbelow the shelf arranged to rest upon the belt and hold the shelf in asubstantially-horizontal position, and the shelf being permitted to dropby gravity when not so held, whereby articles dropped upon the shelf maybe held, and then conveyed and finally deposited, in combination with acontinuous conveyer below said belt for receiving and conveying thearticles dropped from the shelf.

7. A device for collecting, conveying and depositing articles orpackages of merchandise, having an endless revoluble belt, a shelfhinged to the outside of said belt, and provided with a projectionextending from its hinged or inner portion, said projection having itsouter free extremity parallel with the shelf, and when below the shelfsaid extremity arranged to rest upon the belt and hold the shelf in asnbstantially-horizontal position, and said shelf being permitted todrop by gravity when not so held.

8. A device for collecting, conveying and depositing articles orpackages of merchandise, having an endless revoluble belt, a shelfhinged to the outside of said belt, and provided with a rigid projectionextending from its hinged or inner portion, and said projection whenbelow the shelf arranged to rest upon the belt and hold the shelf in asubstantially-horizontal position, and said shelf being permitted todrop by gravity when not so held, whereby articles dropped upon theshelf may be held, and then conveyed, and finally deposited.

9. A device for collecting, conveying and depositing articles orpackages of merchandise, having an endless revoluble belt, a shelfhinged to the outside of said belt, and provided with a rigid projectionextending from its hinged or inner portion, said projection having itsouter free extremity parallel with the shelf, and when below the shelfsaid extremity arranged to rest upon the belt and hold the shelf in asubstantially-horizontal position, and said shelf being permitted todrop by gravity when not so held.

10. A device for collecting, conveying and depositing articles orpackages of merchandise, havingan endless revoluble belt, a shelf hingedto the outside of said belt, and provided with a projection extendingfrom its hinged or inner portion, and walls secured to both ends of thesame, and said projection when below the shelf arranged to rest upon thebelt and hold the shelf in a substantiallyhorizontal position, and saidshelf being permitted to drop by gravity when not so held, wherebyarticles dropped upon the shelf may be held, and then conveyed, andfinally deposited.

11. A device for collecting, conveying and depositing articles orpackages of merchan dise, having an endless revoluble belt, a shelfhinged to the outside of said belt, and provided with a projectionextending from its hinged or inner portion, and walls secured to bothends of the same, said projection having its outer free extremityparallel with the shelf, and when below the shelf said extremityarranged to rest upon the belt and hold the shelf in asubstantially-horizontal position, and said shelf being permitted todrop by gravity when not so held.

12. A device for collecting, conveying and depositing articles orpackages of merchandise, having an endless revoluble belt, a shelfhinged to the outside of said belt, and walls secured to both ends ofthe shelf and extend ing above and below the same, and the innerextremities of said walls on one side of the shelf connected by a tieand said tie when below the shelf arranged to rest upon the belt andhold the shelf in a substantiallyhorizontal position, and said shelfbeing permitted to drop by gravity when not so held.

13. In a device for collecting, conveying and depositing articles orpackages of merchandise,- an endless revoluble belt, in combination witha shelf provided witha rigid frame, loops surrounding the inner bar ofsaid frame and riveted to the belt, and serving as hinges for said frameand the shelf, a projection extending from said inner bar, and saidprojection when below the shelf arranged to rest upon the belt and holdthe shelf in a substantially-horizontal position, and said shelf beingpermitted to drop by gravity when not so held.

14. A device for collecting, conveying and depositing articles orpackages of merchandise, having an endless revoluble belt, a shelfhinged to the outside of said belt, and provided with a projectionextending from its hinged or inner portion, and said projection whenbelow the shelf arranged to rest upon the belt and hold the shelf inasubstantiallyhorizontal position, and said shelf being permitted todrop by gravity when not so held, a plurality of continuous couveyerssituated below said belt, and one under the other, whereby articlesdropped upon the shelf may be held, then conveyed and deposited uponsaid continuous conveyers one under the other, and finally deposited atanother 10- cality.

15. In a device for collecting, conveying and depositing articles orpackages of merchandise, an endless revoluble belt, in combination witha shelf provided Witharigid frame, loops surrounding the inner bar ofsaid frame and riveted to the belt, and serving as hinges for said frameand the shelf, a projection extending from said inner bar, and saidprojection when below the shelf arranged to rest upon the belt and holdthe shelf in a substantially-horizontal position, and said shelf beingpermitted to drop by gravity when not so held, a plurality of continuousconveyers situated below said belt, and one under the other, pulleysover which said conveyers are arranged to rotate, and mechanismconnecting said pulleys, whereby the rotation of one conveyer willrotate it and the others in unison, and whereby articles dropped uponthe shelf may be held, then conveyed, and deposited upon said continuousconveyors one under the other, and finally deposited at anotherlocality.

16. A device for collecting, conveying and depositing articles orpackages of merchandise, having an endless revoluble belt, a shelfhinged transversely to the outside of the same and provided with aprojection extending from its hinged or inner portion and saidprojection when below the shelf arranged to rest upon the belt and holdthe shelf in a substantially-horizontal position, said shelf being'permitted to drop by gravity when not so held, whereby the belt willconstitute a back for said shelf and whereby articles dropped upon theshelf maybe held and then conveyed, and deposited.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

LAWRENCE ABRAHAM.

Witnesses:

B. J. OoNRoY, HENRY WILHELM.

